"Nomadic Threads" Features Photographer Doug Weisman & Fiber Artist Doug Masury
Exhibit Runs Throughout July and August
Although their artistic methods are quite different - Doug Weisman using his photographic sensibilities to capture stunning images of the Mongolian landscape and peoples with his cameras and Doug Masury employing uniquely colored threads in his textiles to invoke landscapes, cultures and emotions, their artistic styles complement one another in the outstanding "Nomadic Threads" exhibit.
"Nomadic Threads" was inspired by the natural landscapes and enduring heritage depicted in the visually compelling documentary "The Eagle Huntress" (which chronicles Aisholpan, a 13-year-old nomadic Mongolian girl who trains to become the first female eagle hunter in 12 generations of her Kazakh family).
Select pieces from the "Nomadic Threads" exhibit at the Gallery at WREN in downtown Bethlehem will be on display in the spacious sitting room at the Adair during July and August as part of the ongoing "Arts at the Adair" initiative.
Adair has joined with WREN (Women's Rural Entrepreneurial Network) at 2011 Main Street in Bethlehem, as one of its partners in the Arts at Adair series. The series encourages guests of the Adair to connect with the local arts community while also enjoying the amenities of the landmark historic inn. Visitors to the Adair, as well as the Gallery at WREN, are invited to explore both locations during their tour of the "Nomadic Threads" exhibition.
Meet the Artists
Join photographer Doug Weisman at 4 p.m. on Thursday, August 19, in the Adair parlor as he shares photos and tales of his trip to Mongolia and the Golden Eagle Festival.
A self-taught fiber artist, Doug Masury has spent the last three decades capturing his passion for travel, music, color, and pattern through his woven work. Pieces range in scale from miniature to larger than life, and every work is imbued with a rich history of hand-painted fibers and hand-gathered beads, porcelain, and wood.
Masury uses unique colors and the warp and weft of weaving to create his spectacular woven works, many of which are inspired by Indonesian designs and the Navajo lands of the American Southwest. "Life is filled with subtle nuances of patterns and colors," he says. "I have worked at translating my vision by hand painting the yarns to create the subtlety of nature we see every day in our lives in everything we experience. It is with my creations I translate my world as I see it, taking my dreams and vision into another reality."
Photographer Doug Weisman has worked in the television production industry for over 40 years, and his gift for capturing compelling characters through his camera lens is evident in every photograph. After a viewing of "The Eagle Huntress" several years ago, Weisman and his wife Julie were compelled to make their own pilgrimage across Mongolia to attend The Golden Eagle Festival, and capture the landscapes and locals along the way. The resulting photographs are a testament to long, evocative travels into the unknown. "My inspiration for traveling in Western Mongolia," he says, "came from the documentary film 'The Eagle Huntress.' When we saw the barren, unspoiled landscape, the nomads living as they have for hundreds of years, and the not yet commercialized golden Eagle Festival, we knew we had to explore that region."
Although the people they met live a Spartan lifestyle which takes them to the plains in summer and the mountains in winter, they "are proud and bold," and "were welcoming to Westerners, opened up their cabins to wayward travelers, and shared their love of cattle grazing, horse riding, and raising Golden eagles."
The land is magnificent in its vastness, with wide-open spaces leading to majestic mountains. "The colors of the landscape are muted earth tones, accented by brightly woven, handmade clothing. The eagle hunters make their outerwear from small furry animals - marmot, rabbit and fox - captured by their trained eagles. They weave in bold, primary colors: rugs, wall hangings and ceremonial garments."
See WREN's Online Lookbook for Nomadic Threads to learn more and see all of the pieces on display at both the Adair and the Gallery at WREN.
